Tottenville HS choir part of Sept. 11 salute

Advance photo/Jan Somma-HammelThe Tottenville High School choir practices for its upcoming performance in The September Concert.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Over the last few weeks, the last place most teenagers wanted to be was back in the classroom.

Yet, that is exactly where nearly three dozen Tottenville High School students spent their final days of summer vacation.

The 32 sophomore, junior and senior members of the Huguenot institution's concert choir have spent days fine-tuning a collection of eight songs for its annual participation in The September Concert in Manhattan.

Tomorrow, all that hard work will pay off when the group takes to the steps of the New York Public Library building on Fifth Avenue between 40th and 41st streets to perform uplifting songs, including the concert's anthem, "Give Us Hope" by Jim Popoulis.

The group will sing from 1:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. It was specially selected for the anthem, which will be sung worldwide at 2 p.m.

"It was a piece of cake to get them in here [in late August and early September]," said choir director and vocal teacher JoAnne Nolemi. "I didn't even have to call them. They called me. They are a special group of students."

Despite being held early in the school year on the anniversary of Sept. 11, the concert is one of the highlights of the concert calendar for Tottenville's budding singers.

An annual day of music with peace as the central theme, The September Concert began in 2002 in Manhattan, but spread to 222 concerts featuring nearly 10,0000 performers throughout the world last year.

Those numbers are expected to increase tomorrow.

At previous events, the Tottenville concert choir has given its performance at the South Street Seaport, but with that venue booked this year, event organizers chose to bring the group to the most visible location available.

"They are really an amazingly talented and devoted group, so we invited them to join us at the public library," said Haruko Smith, founder of the concert series and chairwoman of The September Concert Foundation. "They've been with us so long, and we didn't want to give them up."

With the late start of the school calendar, a joint effort of school staff and students to arrange summer rehearsals was required, but went off without a hitch.

"Everyone cooperated, and we were able to mobilize very quickly to get the building open for the students to rehearse," said principal John Tuminaro. "This is such a wonderful event, and we're all very excited, especially for this year. This is a tremendous venue. Maybe the best of all."

The successes of the vocal program at Tottenville have grown over the last two decades, according to Tuminaro.

"They invest so much time in what they do," he said, crediting Ms. Nolemi for her work with the students. "And I love that they have the opportunity to share their talent with other people in this way."

Moving from the quiet piers of the Seaport to the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue will not change the way the choir approaches its performance, but it may change the way the crowds react.

"In the past, people were able to stop and sing along and listen and dance and weep," said Ms. Nolemi. "We expect at the steps of the library that people may have the same responses, but we won't know because they may not stop. They'll go on their way having heard the beauty of the music and having been uplifted, but we may never know who we touch."

NOTES:

In addition to the Tottenville concert choir show, The September Concert will also be hosting an event on Staten Island at Killmeyer's Old Bavarian Inn (4254 Arthur Kill Rd.), Charleston. Running from 8 p.m. to midnight, the concert will feature the musical stylings of Agents of Karma, Lil Mike Butler, Somebody's Kidz, The 5th Element and The Mellon Farmers. For additional information, visit www.septemberconcert.org.

Jamie Lee is a reporter for the Staten Island Advance. He covers the West and South Shores and may be reached at jamielee@siadvance.com.